Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN) Short Interest Down 26.7% in March

Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN) was the target of a large decline in short interest in March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 30,414,994 shares, a decline of 26.7% from the February 26th total of 41,466,379 shares. Currently, 8.2% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 12,796,477 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.4 days.

Insider Buying and Selling at Patterson-UTI Energy

In other news, Director Robert Wayne Drummond, Jr. sold 164,775 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.18, for a total value of $1,677,409.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 2.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Patterson-UTI Energy

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Quarry LP raised its position in Patterson-UTI Energy by 360.3% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 4,934 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 3,862 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 127.3% during the 3rd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 5,970 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 3,343 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Corp grew its stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 58.5% in the fourth quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 5,554 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 2,049 shares during the period. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy in the third quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 187.6% during the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 6,591 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 4,299 shares during the last quarter. 97.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $6.00 price objective (down from $7.00) on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy in a report on Monday, December 29th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Patterson-UTI Energy from $9.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Patterson-UTI Energy from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $8.11.

Patterson-UTI Energy Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of NASDAQ:PTEN traded up $0.10 during trading on Friday, reaching $11.36. 11,054,467 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 11,532,389. The stock has a market cap of $4.31 billion, a P/E ratio of -45.44 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a current ratio of 1.64. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $8.80 and a two-hundred day moving average of $6.97. Patterson-UTI Energy has a 52-week low of $5.10 and a 52-week high of $11.58.

Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The oil and gas company reported ($0.02) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.11) by $0.09. Patterson-UTI Energy had a negative return on equity of 1.50% and a negative net margin of 1.94%.The business had revenue of $1.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.10 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.13) EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Patterson-UTI Energy will post -0.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Patterson-UTI Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 2nd. This is an increase from Patterson-UTI Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. Patterson-UTI Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently -160.00%.

Patterson-UTI Energy Company Profile

Patterson-UTI Energy provides a comprehensive suite of onshore contract drilling and pressure pumping services to exploration and production companies in North America. The company’s core offerings include land-based drilling rigs, directional drilling, hydraulic fracturing services, downhole tool rental and well-servicing equipment. By integrating drilling and completion capabilities, Patterson-UTI Energy offers operators a streamlined solution designed to improve operational efficiency and well performance.

Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Patterson-UTI Energy traces its origins to its founding in 1978 and was later incorporated in Delaware in 1996.